☦ Neamt Monastery - Romania The Neamț Monastery (Romanian: Mănăstirea Neamț) is a Romanian Orthodox religious settlement, one of the oldest and most important of its kind in Romania. It was built in the 15th century, and it is an example of medieval Moldavian architecture. Photo: Cristibur (talk) · CC BY-SA 3.0

☦ Hilandar - Athos, Greece The Hilandar Monastery (, HILL-lən-dər, Serbian: Manastir Hilandar, Manastir Hilandar, Greek: Μονή Χιλανδαρίου, romanized: Moni Chilandariou) is one of the twenty Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Mount Athos in Greece and the only Serbian Orthodox monastery there. It is ranked fourth in the Athonite hierarchy of 20 sovereign monasteries. Photo: Sasha Shukiћ · CC BY 3.0

☦ Meteora - Thessaly, Greece Meteora (; Greek: Μετέωρα, pronounced [meˈteora]) is a rock formation in the regional unit of Trikala, in Thessaly, in northwestern Greece, hosting one of the most prominent complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries, viewed locally as second in importance only to Mount Athos. Their height is more than 20 meters (66 ft). Photo: Stathis floros · CC BY-SA 4.0

☦ Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius - Sergiev Posad The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius (Russian: Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius) is a lavra and the most important Russian monastery, being the spiritual center of the Russian Orthodox Church. The monastery is located in the town of Sergiyev Posad, about 70 kilometers (43 mi) to the northeast from Moscow by the road leading to Yaroslavl, and currently is home to over 300 monks. Photo: Alexander Grishin · CC BY-SA 3.0

Roses bloomed in the church garden. They look calm and homely, you immediately think about simple things.

The monastery on the hill in the morning mist. A peaceful sight that makes one stop and think about silence.

The old bells hanging quietly in the belfry always make me think of all the years of calls to prayer they've given. Solid and steady, like the faith they're meant to summon.

A ray of sunlight falls on the old stone floor in the church. This light immediately reminds me how good it is to just stand and pray in silence.

Fresh bread for the communal meal after the service. It smells so good that you immediately want to sit down at the table and share it with others.

Here is a quiet meadow of wild flowers, and in the distance you can see the white church. You look at her and it occurs to you how peaceful everything can be when one just stops and looks.

Silent candles in the church. I remember how much peace they bring in an ordinary day.

Quiet autumn evening, the domes glow golden in the darkening sky. It reminds me how beautiful it is to stop for a moment and give thanks.

Morning in a monastery on a hill shrouded in fog. One immediately thinks of silence and what remains when all else is gone.

Freshly baked bread for the parish table. It smells like home and reminds me of simple after-work meals.

Fresh bread, fresh from the oven, for a shared meal. Reminds me of how, as a child, my mother would put this on the table on a cold autumn evening.

Old prayer book by candlelight. On such evenings it is especially good to read the evening rules, when it is quiet and dark outside.

Daisies and bluebells bloomed in the meadow, a white church in the distance. One immediately remembers how good it is sometimes to just stand and watch.

Candles burn quietly in the church. It reminds me of the peace that a person finds when he just stands still.